{"id":4954,"date":"2013-06-26T14:12:55","date_gmt":"2013-06-26T21:12:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/?p=4954"},"modified":"2013-06-26T14:12:55","modified_gmt":"2013-06-26T21:12:55","slug":"while-waiting-for-godot-at-marin-theatre-company-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/while-waiting-for-godot-at-marin-theatre-company-2\/","title":{"rendered":"While \u201cWaiting for Godot\u201d at Marin Theatre Company"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Mark Anderson Phillips (Estragon), James Carpenter (Pozzo) and Mark Bedard (Vladimir) in Waiting for Godot.<\/p>\n

Samuel Beckett\u2019s French title, En Attendant Godot<\/em>, sums up the essence of his 1953 play Waiting for Godot<\/em> as it is really about what happens while two tramps wait.\u00a0 Beckett\u2019s masterpiece is directed by MTC\u2019s Artistic Director, Jasson Minadakis.\u00a0 Beckett calls his play \u201ca tragi-comedy\u201d in two acts.<\/p>\n

The plot of Samuel Beckett\u2019s Waiting for Godot is simple to relate. Two tramps Estragon, (Mark Anderson Phillips) and Vladimir (Mark Bedard) are waiting by the side of the road for the arrival of Godot.\u00a0 They quarrel, make up, contemplate suicide, try to sleep, eat a carrot and gnaw on some chicken bones.\u00a0 Later, two other characters appear, a master, Pozzo (James Carpenter) and his slave, Lucky (Ben Johnson).\u00a0 They pause for a while to converse with Vladimir and Estragon.\u00a0 Lucky entertains them by dancing.\u00a0 After Pozzo and Lucky leave, a young boy (Lucas Meyers) arrives to say that Godot will\u00a0 not come today but he will come tomorrow.\u00a0 However, Godot does not come and the two tramps resume their vigil by the tree, which between the 1st<\/sup> and 2nd<\/sup> act has spring some leaves.<\/p>\n

Beckett\u2019s two tramps are costumed by Maggi Whitaker in tight black suits, bowler hats and tight shoes which are reminiscent of Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Laurel and Hardy.\u00a0 The minimalist set by Liliana Duque Pineiro consists of a plain black background with only a bare branched tree, a rock and occasionally a moon.<\/p>\n

Minadakis\u2019 superb direction shows us that life is worth living when you are with someone.\u00a0 His Vladimir and Estragon are tied together because they need each other. They complement one another.\u00a0 Vladimir never sits down while Estragon is constantly sitting.<\/p>\n

Minadakis has assembled a talented cast\u2014Oregon Shakespeare Festival Company Member is Vladimir.\u00a0 Mark Anderson Phillips, previously in MTC\u2019s Tiny Alice, is Estragon.\u00a0 Both actors play off each other very well.\u00a0 A standout performance is given by well-known Bay Area actor James Carpenter as Pozzo.\u00a0 Former Ringling Brothers and Cirque du Soleil clown, Ben Johnson makes the most of his role as Pozzo\u2019s servant Lucky.\u00a0 His long speech is strongly reminiscent of James Joyce.<\/p>\n

Beckett\u2019s play is universal because it pictures the journey all of us take in our daily lives.\u00a0 Habit is very important as it is the pattern of our daily lives.\u00a0 We are all waiting for something to make our lives better.\u00a0 The act of waiting is never over and it mysteriously starts up again each day.<\/p>\n

Waiting for Godot runs at Marin Theatre Company January 24-February 17, 2013.\u00a0 Performances are held Tuesday, Thursday-Saturday at 8 p.m.; Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 7 p.m. Matinees are held each Sunday at 2 p.m. and a Saturday matinee, Feb. 11 at 2 p.m. and Thursday, February 7 at 1 p.m.\u00a0 All performances are held at 397 Miller Avenue, Mill Valley. For tickets, call the box office, 415-388-5208 or go to www.marintheatre.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Coming up next at MTC will be the Bay Area Premiere of The Whipping Man by Matthew Lopez and directed by Jasson Minadakis, March 28-April 21, 2013.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mark Anderson Phillips (Estragon), James Carpenter (Pozzo) and Mark Bedard (Vladimir) in Waiting for Godot. Samuel Beckett\u2019s French title, En Attendant Godot, sums up the essence of his 1953 play…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"yasr_overall_rating":0,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4954","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-flora-lynn-isaacson"},"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":true,"span_bottom":"